With a Little Help From Ichiraku
by JustInunotaisho
Summary: Old habits die hard, and, in the case of a certain hyuuga heiress, they imitate a phoenix. A grossly disproportionate summary for a humble story, but there it is.


A/N: I confess I find myself a hypocrite. Yes, this is a 180. And no, I do not own Naruto.

It was amazing, thought Hinata, how easily she fell into old routines. Even after two and a half years, discreetly following Naruto around filled her off hours. She kept out of sight as he wandered down the street, hands in his pockets and whistling.

Old habits died hard indeed. Already, she tried to rationalize this activity to herself for the thousandth time. _I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary, _she insisted to herself. _This is just practice. I need practice following people unseen._

And yet, a part of her raised a skeptical brow. _'People' meaning 'many' and Naruto is the only one you track. _

Hinata ignored this.

It seemed Naruto's habits hadn't changed in two years either. He entered the Ramen Shop, vaulting up onto the barstool. "Hey, a bowl of ramen here!" he demanded.

_Nothing new there,_ thought Hinata as she pretended to look in the window of the shop across the street and instead watched Naruto in the reflection just as she used to do.

"On second thought, better make it two."

_He's having two at once? _One of Hinata's eyebrows quirked. _Slightly different, but still unsurprising._

His next move surprised her completely. As the chef began to prepare the dishes, the blond shinobi spun around one the stool and waved at her. "Hinata! C'mon and have some ramen!"

Faster than a storm cloud overruns the noonday sun, a blush flamed on the frozen girl's cheeks. Her heart beat a furious tattoo against her ribs. How did – had he really - ?

Later, she wondered how she managed to turn and walk over next to him. Naruto beamed at her, his azure eyes sparkling. She blushed deeper, her lavender accented eyes flicking anywhere but him. "N-naruto-kun…" she stammered, slender fingers twitching. "I…well-"

"Two bowls of ramen, one pork, one chicken," announced the chef, setting the dishes down. He smiled kindly at the shy Hyuga and remembered the many times before when she subtly watched Naruto eat ramen. Over the last few years, she herself had come in often to eat ramen in the same chair in which Naruto always sat.

Encouraged by his smile and amused by the whoop of joy from Naruto, Hinata sat down and began to eat her chicken ramen. "N-naruto-k-kun," she began.

In mid-noodle-slurp, he looked over. The utter comedy of his questioning gaze combined with noodles dangling from his lips blew her thoughts out of her mind. Averting her eyes again, she scrambled for something to say. "Uh…h-how has your t-training been going?"

"Great!" He did not pause in shoveling noodles into his mouth even as he chattered excitedly about the new skills Jiraiya taught him. As he did, Hinata began to feel a bit more at ease. It became apparent that Naruto had matured a considerable amount since she saw him last. _He's taller, _she mused. _There's also a different look in his eyes. Before, there was stubbornness. Now, there is a burning determination. It's almost frightening._

_He's also even more handso-_

"Hinata? Are you all right?"

Naruto's voice cut through her thoughts. Startled, she met his gaze.

He cocked his head, a puzzled look on his face. "What have you been doing these last few years?" he asked again.

"Oh…um…" Hinata realized she was only half-finished with her ramen and began to eat again. "Well, S-sakura showed m-me a little of what the Fifth is t-teaching her." As she continued to talk, Hinata discovered she didn't stammer as much if she looked away from his eyes.

The small air of triumph she felt immediately dispersed when her gaze met his on accident and her hands faltered. From her chopsticks fell the last ramen noodle into her lap. She blushed once more in shame.

Naruto noticed and hesitated.

_He probably thinks I'm the stupidest girl in the world, now._

For the second time that day, Naruto surprised her. From his own bowl, he plucked the last ramen noodle. "Open wide, Hinata."

Astonished, she complied and he dropped the noodle in her mouth with a mischievous grin.

All she could do for a moment was chew. _Did he really- Am I dreaming or was that – _"A-arigato, N-naruto-kun."

His grin widened as he got up. "No problem."

"You…have some sauce on your lip there."

"Huh?" Reaching up, he touched his mouth. "Oh. Thanks." The blond shinobi cast a glance around. "Where'd the napkins go?"

It could have been the result of too much time observing her spontaneous crush. It could have been that Sakura was not the only one with an inner self. It could have been the chef did something drastically different with the ramen.

Whatever the case, Hinata stood up and heard herself say, "Here – I'll get it." She raised herself on tiptoe, grasped the front of his smooth training shirt and put her lips to his own.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, then shut in wonder. Overcoming his shock, he wrapped his arms around her slight frame.

When they broke apart, he winked at her.

The chef coughed politely. "So, Naruto-kun, I trust your meal was satisfactory."

"Oh, yes!" Naruto grinned, one arm still around Hinata's shoulder. "What a flavor. So zesty, so rich, so full."

_Back to your Ramen-obsessing self again?_ Hinata's face fell.

"And you know something?" Naruto went on. "The ramen wasn't bad either."

Lucky for the Hyuuga heiress, evening was falling and Hinata's third blush could not be seen that well.

"C'mon." The blond shinobi took her hand. "I'll walk you home."

Through a hole in a nearby fence, an amused Jiraiya watched them go, busily scratching notes on a clipboard. "Hmmm…"

With a small thunk, Kakashi appeared next to him. "What _are_ you doing?"

"Getting ideas for my next novel." The older man chewed on his pencil, a pensive look on his face. "What do you think of 'Make Out Encounter' as a title?"

Tempting though it was, Kakashi gently took the clipboard from him and not-so-gently broke it over the Ero-Sennin's head. "Have you no respect for young love?"

Across the street, the ramen chef cleared away the bowls. He leaned out, watching Naruto and Hinata disappear into the dusk. Smiling to himself, he reached behind the counter and put the napkin dispenser back on the bartop.

A/N: Anyone have any constructive critisism? Even if you hate it, tell me why and how to change.


End file.
